Die statt Chur im Schweytzer gebirg in der Grawen pündter land unfern vom Rhein gelegen.

Title

Die statt Chur im Schweytzer gebirg in der Grawen pündter land unfern vom Rhein gelegen.

Description

Representation of the city of Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland.

ca. 1550

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münsters (1489-1552) is one of the famous cosmographers of the Renaissance. Its real importance in the field of cartography is based on its famous cosmography, which he published in 1544 with 24 double-sided maps (including Moscow and Transylvania). The material for this came largely from research and the collection of information from around 1528, which he initially only wanted to use for a description of Germany, but was now sufficient for a map of the entire world and ultimately led to a cosmography. He constantly tried to improve this work, i.e. to replace or add to maps. In the edition of 1550, only 14 maps were taken over from the earlier editions. The 52 maps printed in the text were also only partially based on the old maps. The great success of this cosmography was also based on the precise work of the woodcuts mostly by Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf, Hans Rudolph Deutsch and David Kandel. It was the first scientific and at the same time generally understandable description of the knowledge of the world in German, in which the basics of history and geography, astronomy and natural sciences, regional and folklore were summarized according to the state of knowledge at that time. Cosmography is the science of describing the earth and the universe. Until the late Middle Ages, geography, geology and astronomy were also part of it. The first edition of the Cosmographia took place in 1544 in German, printed in Heinrich Petri's office in Basel. Heinrich Petri was a son from the first marriage of Münster's wife to the Basel printer Adam Petri. Over half of all editions up to 1628 were also published in German. However, the work has also been published in Latin, French, Czech and Italian. The English editions all comprised only a part of the complete work. Viktor Hantzsch identified a total of 46 editions in 1898 (German 27; Latin 8; French 3; Italian 3; Czech 1) that appeared from 1544 to 1650, while Karl Heinz Burmeister only had 36 (German 21; Latin 5; French 6; Italian 3; Czech 1) that appeared between 1544 and 1628. The first edition from 1544 was followed by the second edition in 1545, the third in 1546, the fourth edition in 1548 and the fifth edition in 1550, each supplemented by new reports and details, text images, city views and maps and revised altogether. Little has been known about who - apart from the book printers Heinrich Petri and Sebastian Henricpetri - were responsible for the new editions after Münster's death. The 1628 edition was edited and expanded by the Basel theologian Wolfgang Meyer. With Cosmographia, Sebastian Münster has published for the first time a joint work by learned historians and artists, by publishers, wood cutters and engravers. The numerous vedute are usually made as woodcuts. Sebastian Münster obtained his knowledge from the travel reports and stories of various scholars, geographers, cartographers and sea travelers. Long after his death, "Kosmographie" was still a popular work with large editions: 27 German, 8 Latin, 3 French, 4 English and even 1 Czech editions appeared. The last edition appeared in Basel in 1650.

Historical Description

Chur lies in the wide valley of the Alpine Rhine. Chur originated from Roman settlements. From its military structure, the bishopric of Chur probably developed as early as the 4th century AD, making it the first bishopric north of the Alps. Chur was already a local administrative center in the first centuries of its existence, which is indicated, among other things, by the honorary monument to Lucius Caesar. In the 9th century, the city was under the rule of Emperor Louis the Pious. In the 13th century, the settlement, which at that time had a good 1000 inhabitants (craftsmen, merchants, farmers), was enclosed by a city wall. The founding of the Gotteshausbund in 1367 marked a first major step in the citizens' striving for self-government. In 1413 a mayor is mentioned for the first time. By storming the bishop's residence several times in 1418-1422, the people of Chur forced the city ruler to make concessions. The bishop, who often acted as a vicarious agent of the House of Habsburg, lost power and prestige. In 1464, large parts of the city fell victim to a fire. The reconstruction was mainly carried out by German-speaking craftsmen. After their work was done, they stayed in Chur, which led to an advance of the German language in Chur. To protect their interests, they joined together in guilds. The citizens of Chur sent the town scribe Johannes Gsell to Emperor Frederick III and asked for help. The king confirmed the old rights and granted almost complete exemption from episcopal rule. The new constitution was essentially based on the newly founded five guilds (vintners, shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, Pfister). Only town citizens could become guild members. The guild regime came to an end shortly before 1840. From the middle of the 17th century, the town took a quiet development based on the transit traffic, which increased again. The relationship between the citizens and the bishop was, if not one of sympathy, at least one of mutual respect. After Graubünden joined the Swiss Confederation in 1803, Chur officially became the capital with the cantonal constitution in force from 1820. In 1852, the hitherto sovereign court district (Hof Chur) was incorporated.